Vice Premier of Ukraine Oleksandr Vilkul has reported that Ukraine is seriously intending to gain the right to host the Winter Olympics in 2022.

"Ukraine is planning to submit a bid and win the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics - this is a part of the state national strategy, as well as the strategy for the development of the Carpathian region and all of the western lands of Ukraine," he said delivering a speech at the ABC Ukraine & Partners conference in Kyiv on Friday.

Vilkul said that the holding of the Olympics would favor the development of the Carpathian region's infrastructure and promote the tourist potential of Lviv and Carpathian region abroad.

He gave as an example Spain's experience of holding the Summer Olympics in 1992, which brought a "Barcelona-effect" of powerful economic growth.

"We have every chance of making the Carpathian region a pearl of winter and summer tourism recognized around the world as a training and competitive base in winter sports," Vilkul said.

According to the vice premier, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will create thousands of highly paid jobs and will attract millions of tourists to Ukraine.

He said that in November Ukraine is to submit an bid to hold the Winter Olympics in 2022, a short-list of final group of the candidate countries for holding the competition will be drawn up in the summer of 2014, and in the summer of 2015 the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics will be announced.

"We'll do everything in order for Ukraine to be declared [the winner]," Vilkul said.